VALDOSTA — Two facilities serving hurricane victims in Lowndes County have closed their doors — one of them permanently.

Citing a Covid-19 outbreak, the Georgia Department of Human Resources announced the closure of its Phase 2 Disaster SNAP location at Victory Baptist Church, 3229 Madison Hwy., on Monday.

The Victory Baptist Church site served residents of Berrien, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes counties, providing temporary food assistance in the form of a one-time payment to low-to-moderate income households who lost income or sustained property damage following Hurricane Helene. It was scheduled to close at 5 p.m. Monday, when the Phase 2 schedule ended.

Three other Phase 2 sites in Moultrie, Douglas and Woodbine were also scheduled to close at 5 p.m. Monday. Until 5 p.m. Monday, applicants can reach out to those sites or register online at gateway.ga.gov.

In an unrelated development, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Monday that it will temporarily close its Business Recovery Centers in Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday in observance of Election Day. The five centers will resume normal operations on Thursday, including the one in Lowndes County, located at the Turner Center for the Arts Art Annex, 601 N. Patterson St.

“SBA’s Business Recovery Centers are a cornerstone of our support for business owners,” said Francisco Sánchez, Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the Small Business Administration. “At these centers, business owners can meet face-to-face with specialists to apply for disaster loans and access a wide range of resources to guide them through their recovery.”

Customer Service Representatives at SBA’s Business Recovery Centers can help applicants complete their disaster loan application, accept documents for existing applications, and provide updates on an application’s status. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can schedule an in-person appointment at an SBA Disaster Recovery Center in advance.

The Lowndes County Business Recovery Center will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday after the Election Day closure is over.